Great line-up for the ballA few things about the Trinity Ball that always arise . . .
It will be said that it is Europe's largest private music party and that it was once Dublin's premier social event (now we've got the VIP Style Awards). A rumour will fester that Daft Punk is playing this year. Every newspaper will have a cover photo of revellers after the ball is over. One of the more excitable papers will run an exposé (Shock! Horror! Students get excessively inebriated!). Aslan will perform. Girls will regret wearing heels on the cobblestones. It will be remembered that The Clash, Public Enemy and U2 once played the ball. And, finally, it will be said next year's ball will be cancelled, because of spiralling costs. The unthinkable almost happened in 2004 when the college announced that there would be no ball in 2005. The students' union fought the decision and persuaded music promotion giant MCD to come on board. The ball took place in fine style, and the event continues to grow almost as a mini-music festival.
The attraction for MCD, it would seem, is tapping the huge student market and showcasing the roster of bands it has on offer for the coming months. Inside Trinity, most of the responsibility still falls on the ents officer's shoulders. This year it's Barry Murphy, a 20-year-old pharmacy student from Malahide. He's especially excited about the strong line-up, starting with Northern rock perennials Ash. "They're great to have as a headliner," says Murphy. "Everyone knows Ash. We remember all the anthems from their 1977 album - Oh Yeah, Girl from Mars- everyone loves them." There is an impressive array of international artists from the resurgent electro and dance scenes, and the much-hyped Nu-Rave scene (catch it now while it's still in fashion), with acts such as Booka Shade, Boys Noize, Justice, Busy P, Datarock, Erol Alkan, the Hot Chip DJs and everyone's band of the moment, Cansei de Ser Sexy. "CSS for me are the one I love," Murphy enthuses. "There's something so different and something that will really suit the ball because they're a party band and they're crazy on stage."
There is also space for some of the best homegrown bands, with The Immediate, Director, The lizzards and Channel One all involved. Consequently the ball has sold out in record time. "The way it's gone down around campus has been brilliant," says Murphy.
Not everyone is happy, though. "It can be quite thankless," Murphy explains. "There are 15,000 students and then graduates, all of them allowed to get two tickets - but there's only 6,000 tickets. So you know, you do the maths yourself there.
"There's times that, even if you do something well, people complain that you shouldn't have done it so well."
And what of the never-ending Daft Punk rumour? "We've got Justice playing, and Busy P is Justice's manager and he's Daft Punk's manager, so I suppose it was a little more likely this year, but . . . you never know !" Larry Ryan
white goldThe Four Seasons hotel in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, is celebrating asparagus season with a festival (until May 12th) dedicated to the delicate white variety of this seasonal treat. Scallops, Westphalian ham, medallions of veal, Dublin Bay prawns, paillard of salmon, and lobster with lemon and cumin are on executive chef Terry White's festival menus for Seasons restaurant, with asparagus featuring in every dish. Marie-Claire Digby
window on koreaConsidering a trip to Pyongyang for your next exotic holiday? No? Well, to find out what you're missing, check out Welcome to Pyongyang, a "pastiche guide" of the capital of North Korea by photographer Charlie Crane, with an introduction by film-maker Nick Bonner. Made in full co-operation with North Korea's state-run tourism agency, it is a curious representation of how this isolated country, which receives only 1,800 western visitors a year, sees itself - and wishes to be seen. Welcome to Pyongyang is published by Chris Boot, £20. Eimear McKeith
best foot forwardHow much thought do you put into buying a new pair of trainers or football boots? Probably, you pick a style that looks cool, get the right size, take a few steps in front of the mirror and pick the trendiest pair at the best price. Sound familiar? You could be making a big mistake.
A small sports retail company in Glasnevin, D'Arcy Sports, is attempting to match your feet with the right trainers by using footscan technology. By walking and running over a pressure-sensitive mat, a computer can analyse exactly how your foot lands, spreads out and takes off again, indicating where there might be excess pressure or biomechanical problems. It's fair to say it's a more comprehensive method of shoe shopping than sashaying around a busy sports shop.
"What happens when you walk or run is that the arch functions as a kind of shock absorber," says Ciaran D'Arcy, a former badminton player who set up the shop last year with his brother Conor. "If there are biomechanical problems with the way you walk - and everybody has them to a degree - your foot won't absorb enough of the shock, and that will go up through your leg, causing problems eventually in your ankles, knees, hips, back, all the way up. The footscan technology can help see where the problems are and suggest solutions."
People's feet can either overpronate (an excessive inward roll) or oversupinate (too much pressure on the outside of the foot), and both can cause problems. Ideally, our footstrike should be neutral, as in right down the middle, spreading the pressure evenly along the metatarsals. The footscan software creates a 3D representation of your footstrike, and if it judges it to be overly pronating or supinating, it will suggest a specific performance insole. "It's crazy how little people consider their feet, especially when your whole body weight goes through it," says D'Arcy. "If you're just walking around the house you can wear anything, but if you're putting real pressure on your feet, either by sports or lots of walking, then the extra knowledge about how your feet work could be invaluable." D'Arcy Sport, The Rise, Off Griffith Avenue, Glasnevin, D9 01-8572969, www.darcysport.ie. Davin O'Dwyer
cause worthySome products that cross my desk automatically slip into my make-up bag and become immediate friends. Such was the case with a lipstick and gloss that hit just the right note for wearability. The lipstick (in a shade called Paint Me Accepting) is the perfect daytime neutral. Add a slick of Unifem Gloss and you're ready for a night out. To top it all, the brand donates all its profits to support women's issues. Step forward PeaceKeeper , whose mantra is "Look good, feel good, do good". Founder Jody Weiss says the very act of buying a product from the range means you become part of the solution, by making spending decisions that contribute directly to promoting women's health and well being. The range includes both lip and nail products, priced from €11. Available in McCabes and other pharmacies nationwide. Phyl Clarke
cookclubWho would have thought that all over this time-poor country people would be able to meet regularly to discuss books? But the book club has taken hold in Ireland and new friendships are formed between neighbours and strangers over a chapter of Austen or a smattering of McEwan.
A variation on the book club was born in New York six years ago. In their manifesto, the six women behind the Cooking Club explain how they started.
"Cooking in New York City is like driving - no-one in their right mind does it. In this city dinner at home requires only two ingredients: a phone and a drawer full of take-out menus." They were all young, glamorous women working in what they describe as entry-level publishing jobs and sharing a love of home-cooked food.
A girls' night in at the Manhattan apartment that came equipped with a galley kitchen became a formal monthly club that meets and cooks for each other on the first Sunday of every month.
Then two books and a website followed and cooking clubs sprouted up in American cities.
The club might see members bringing ingredients for a one-off meal to share food and a chat, or cooking larger pots of food that could be boxed and taken home for the fridge or freezer. As twee as the quilting bee and it could never catch on here? Possibly. But then we thought that about book clubs once. Catherine Cleary
taking on the big boysArdkeen Food Store in Waterford deserves all the accolades it gets for being a family-owned supermarket surviving in a world of retail behemoths. They have chosen to fight their corner not on price (which would seem logical) but by focusing on quality local produce and by championing small producers. They often get the producers themselves in to operate merchandise stalls in the store, which creates a nice farmers'-market vibe.
On a recent visit, there was a guy from Pie Kitchen offering samples of his handmade pies, which are made in their kitchens in Smithfield. Around the next corner, young husband-and-wife team Nigel and Carol Harper from Kilkenny were selling their farmhouse ice creams, called Cramers Grove. Best of all, there's a new cheese counter run by Galwegian cheesemonger Sheridans. The counter at Ardkeen is run by Paris-born Linda Illouli, who has been working with cheese since she was 14, beginning at her local market outside Paris. Michael Kelly
on the radar Radarmagazine, relaunched in New York with much fanfare earlier this year, promises an eclectic and irreverent mix of "pop, politics, scandal and style". Many have tried that trick before, and Radarhas been around the block already, with a previous incarnation in 2005. It lasted a mere three issues but managed to make headlines with an examination of Tom Cruise and his Scientologist ways. Now it's back again. The first issue, April-May, features Colin Farrell (remember him?) heading a list of the world's "toxic bachelors", along with a look at Barak Obama and his Hollywood friends, and asks "Is your baby gay?" Issue two is due shortly. More constant is their excellent oh-so Web 2.0 site Radaronline.com. Here daily features, reviews, interviews and opinion pieces on a variety of topics mix with a daily news/gossip blog and videos. Recent favourites include a look at hip-hop feuds going online, the Fame-O-Meter tracking who's making the headlines and a list of "America's 10 horniest presidents" - Bill Clinton only comes 10th. See www.radaronline.com. Larry Ryan